INDY AUTHOR TALK with Laura Hughes ~ Fascinated with People and Why We Act the Way We Do

Laura is spot on with her analysis regarding how people are and how they react to each other. This week’s Indy Author Talk gives an pretty interesting perspective on the topic. Laura is a huge supporter of Nerd Girl Official and we are of her! Please enjoy this week’s second installment of our Indy Author Talk! I hope you enjoy!!

♥ Gladys #XOXOtheNerdGirl #NerdGirlOfficial

*****Being Fascinated with People and Why We Act the Way We Do*****

I was sitting down thinking about what I wanted to talk about and, being as random as I am sometimes- here’s what I came up with. Being fascinated with people and why we act the way we do- I really think this way- so I hope it doesn’t sound like an English Literature assignment.

A life well lived results from many useful lessons learned through the passage of time, lessons that help us know both who we are and understand those around us. But somewhere along the way, we have changed how we learn these lessons; our information comes from sources far beyond just the people we live, play and work with. If you think about it, from the moment we are born, we begin to feel our way through a minefield of potentially dangerous and hurtful situations. We survive these situations by skillfully navigating through intricate emotional and mental booby traps set up by some cosmic overseer eagerly awaiting the outcome of our efforts. What follows is a lifetime of hopefully, minor miscalculations that rock us off our path from time to time. Relationships, social skills, and even how we feel about ourselves are all things we are not only required to master while we walk this earth but, as every sentimental movie we have ever seen shows; be instinctively good at. If we are smart about what we see along that journey, we can learn to adjust and adapt to life in a way that makes us confident and secure people worthy of praise and admiration. If not, then the student becomes like the rest of us; functional but slightly misshapen and surprised when we make it to the end and still have people that not only like, but also love us -which of course is the greatest gift of all. As time passes we have gone far beyond the original concept of learning through interaction and conversation and are into the great age of advice from strangers.

In order to help us along our way on the path to a fulfilling and enlightened life experience, we have much more help than I’m sure most of us want. There are magazine articles telling us how to find the right person to love, how to keep them by acting just the right way, and failing that, how to recover and do it all again, this time correctly. There are even experts who write articles giving advice on proper behavior in the workplace and any given social situation one might have. Celebrities are featured in articles that show us how they became great and offer advice on how to relate to their specialness. Pages of fashion trends are offered that show how to dress and how to control weight in an effort to make us understand what makes one person more popular or accessible to others and why we might not be like those people, but should be. Advertisements tell us that if our hair, nails, and teeth are perfect, then maybe we will be too. The advice is there, so of course, we read it and apply to our lives.

What popular media and mental counseling is not able to offer in the way of emotional tutoring and guidance can be learned from a magical screen called television. All kinds of useful tips can be seen in a favorite drama where the people portrayed usually say and do the right thing while reciting cleverly scripted lines showing a deep understanding of what is supposed to come next. By the end of the episode it is readily apparent that, despite what happened during that forty-five minute time span, the cast will do just fine; if not then obviously the character was a scumbag and deserved his or her just end. Sometimes this is not so, because for recurring characters there is always redemption and forgiveness before they return to their predictable “good guy” behavior. Right is right and wrong is really wrong and that is where we begin to learn how to spot the heroes and villains of the saga. With repetition, the ideas become set in our minds, forming a proven truth that we live by and react to on a daily basis. In fact, we rely on them for continuity, the same day of the week for an entire viewing season. But for those who are into watching “real” people on a “reality” show, more extreme behavior can be observed. Drama is more dramatic, clothes are more daring and relationships ten times more intense than any ordinary person might experience. Hopefully these shows are not taken as a lesson in what not to do as some of this behavior can either get a person arrested or, the very least, look ridiculous. Watch and learn at your own risk.

Last but not least of all attempts to pass on some clues to behavior and human interaction is, of course, the novel. Authors always try to capture the human experience in such a way that others can understand and live the character’s life in a personal way. Words are placed in such an order that they invoke a vision of who this person is and how would and should react to the situations given them in the story. It is always hoped that the reader will walk away with something of value from the three hundred or more pages of behavioral study provided for their entertainment. Whether there is a moral message, shock effect or emotional tone to the tale, immortality can be gained for the author in what is remembered of it and passed on. We all want to be associated with writing a classic now don’t we?

Though the tone of this post is slightly cynical in representation, it is actually an interesting and endearing part of our nature to share what experience has taught us. People feel the need to enrich and inform others to the human experience, showing good and bad and what they feel we should all aspire to be. This is what we feel compelled to do, advise and guide our fellow man on the right path to a life well lived, or someone’s version of it.

****Laura’s Bio and Links******

Laura Hughes is an author and Registered Nurse. Caring for others is a privilege but writing is my true passion. I am an avid runner and weight lifter- love being active and the freedom being in shape gives me. I am married with a daughter named Sara- I live in Oklahoma, was born in Connecticut and lived many places in between. ( I am not good at talking about myself- That’s all I got)

When and why did you begin writing? What inspired you to write your first book?

I have been writing for about seven years. The inclination to write was always there but I never gave serious thought to actually sitting down and writing an entire story until I saw an ad for one of those at home writing schools, you know the ones offered in magazines. I enrolled and set about completing the assignments- and you know what I realized once I started- the assignments were too restrictive and I had much more too say than they wanted to hear. When I wanted to describe things- I was told it was too long and had to be cut short to fit a certain word length for this article or that story. I decided I had more to give than a five hundred word limit and so I never finished the course- but I did learn that my imagination would carry me far beyond that little boxed in area that was set up as a standard.

What book(s) / author(s) have influenced your life and writing?

The Lord of the Ring series and the Hobbit- by J.R.R. Tolkien- Of course! I have read all four books so many times and never seem to tire of this story. The plot was so original with characters that caught my attention and held it- the author managed to give a rich back story, it all fit so well- I haven’t read the Quenta Silmarillion- which I understand was partially complete but I believe his son finished later. I wanted to catch and hold the reader’s attention like that, making them want to know more about my characters and actually care what comes next.

Tell us about your characters and how they came to be? Have they been in your head for a long time?

I actually started this series with my daughter Sara in mind. She was five when I first came up with the idea. Children see all heroes as something that they could be- who wouldn’t want special powers and the ability to defeat the bad guy even if he was bigger and tougher than you are? Once I started writing- I know it sounds weird- but the characters started to introduce themselves to me- I could just see them in my head- what they could do- what they thought and how they would react to certain situations. Sometimes I would start a paragraph about a certain character and it seemed to just flow until I wrote a sentence that didn’t fit- I would stop and say to myself- he or should would never do that- so of course you fix it for your character’s sake- because they are always in your head- dictating how they want to be presented.

What motivates you to write?

I write almost everyday- I feel compelled to do so because they are a lot of untold stories floating around in my head that are supposed to be put on paper and shared. The urge to write is so strong that I find it hard to hit the stop button. As I am finishing this current series- I have already drafting ideas for a new series. I started to write a few paragraphs and file them- but I had to stop because I didn’t want to lose my current train of thought for the book I am working on now.

What is the hardest part of writing?

Stopping- If I am not writing something most of the time- I feel lost, like I am not doing what I am supposed to be doing. I also hate knowing what I want to say and not phrasing it the way I want to. Sometimes it takes quite a bit of typing and deletion to get my point across.

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

That there are no finite rules about writing other than- grammatical make up and spelling. You can’t please everyone- so don’t try. Go with your gut- your instincts are always on your side while your critics aren’t. Being different sometimes makes you shine brighter than blending with the crowd.

Where do you get your ideas?

My ideas are like a movie in my head- They are dreams that I put on paper. I am interested in myths, possibilities and a collection of things I must have seen or encountered along the way.

What does your family think of your writing?

My husband is one hundred percent behind everything I do and constantly tells me so. My daughter Sara loves the idea of it and likes to hear how he namesake is doing- but she is fourteen now and her attention for me is fleeting.

What is the best advice you would give to inspiring authors?

Just start writing- there is no preparation for it, no special magical sign that you were or weren’t meant to do it- If you have a strong desire to do it- then you will put the time and energy into perfecting what you started. Take some criticism- if it is helpful- learn what you can from it and continue to make your way anyway. In the end- it is all about your will to stick with it and tell your stories- and never ever- let someone dictate your path. If your conviction is strong enough- you will find a way to be heard.

What book are you reading now?

I haven’t had time to read lately- I am so caught up in my own storyline that I write as often as I can and I avoid anything of my genre like the plague. Don’t want to pick up something from someone else’s ideas. I finished a book about Clark Gable by Warren Harris a month ago.I love biographies.

The NerdGirl

Blogger, Reviewer, Promoter extraordinaire, I don’t think you will find ANYONE that loves books more than her. Gladys will read anything but prefers paranormal and fantasy.
She likes historical and some contemporary ….. as long as its not predictable.